Why Add Total Screen to I/M Program?

Total screen offers each community the rewards of a clean screen program, the benefits of a high emitter program and the dataset to evaluate current and future program design – and it’s self-funding!

Provides emission data on growing OBD fleet

With a general shift away from traditional tail pipe testing towards an OBDII only methodology, the need for real driving emissions data is greater now more than ever. Remote Sensing Devices provide the information necessary in an OBD-only environment to evaluate and validate current and future program design.

Focuses program efforts on the dirtiest 3% of vehicles by pollutant

The modern light duty vehicle fleet consists mostly of clean vehicles and a small but persistent percentage of dirty vehicles emit the majority of pollutants. Because the emissions inventory is highly skewed to a small percentage of the fleet, exempting the “cleanest” vehicles in order to focus station-based inspection on the “dirtiest” vehicles not only makes a program more convenient but makes it more efficient and effective as well.

Because the emissions inventory is highly skewed to a small percentage of the fleet, providing an exemption for the “cleanest” vehicles makes sense!

Identifies commuter traffic

Many states experience an influx of commuting traffic from non-I/M areas or other states on a daily basis that significantly contribute to the region’s harmful emissions. Remote Sensing Devices can quantify the number of out of area vehicles and their impact on air quality. This RSD data set is invaluable in developing program related compliance rules and working with other jurisdictions to solve complicated regional emissions problems.

Identifies Scofflaw Violators

A common story – a vehicle fails an emission inspection and is never seen again. While in some cases the vehicle is replaced and removed from the area, other cases suggest that the vehicle is driving through the community illegally or has been registered outside of the program area but is still commuting into the program on a daily basis. Remote Sensing can identify scofflaws providing the governing agency with a tool to assess and improve enforcement activity.

Identifies Non-compliant Vehicle Type or Carlines

In the wake of the VW scandal, the value of real driving emissions to In-Use Compliance Enforcement is unquestioned. Even after Lab Testing protocols are examined and improved, and new PEMS protocols are introduced, the two remain hampered by recruitment and coverage challenges. In the time it takes to test one vehicle under prescribed lab testing or PEMS protocols, a remote sensor can screen thousands of vehicles efficiently providing an emissions fingerprint per carline. RSDs provided the first indication of non-compliant emissions from the 2-liter light duty diesel VWs in the early 2010s. They are now widely regarded as an essential complement to future carline surveillance strategies.